A volunteer

2006-11-15 08:23:20.000 – Bruce Barlow,  Summit Volunteer

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Tuesday afternoon. The week’s almost over. I finally got my one day of photography. More like an hour, but that’s what happens up here. This is my third time up as a volunteer, and the third time that I’ve had about an hour of good, clear, non-windy weather to go out and make some images.

Today was particularly nice, with beautiful clouds that should print nicely in black and white. The red fox joined me, too. He misses the touristas who make sure he’s well-fed. He looked at me longingly, as if to say, “Buddy, can you spare a T-Bone?” Sorry. All I had at the time was a roll of film.

It has been so warm! Not the winter experience I had in mind. No trips this week, so that means it has been only the four of us, which lightens the cooking and cleanup load considerably. It’s just as well, the larder is a little bare at the moment, awaiting a bulk food order that I’m told will happen shortly.

And their mothers trained these boys well. They bus their own dishes directly into the dishwasher (assuming I’ve emptied it), leaving only the larger pans to do by hand. Nice. Thanks, guys.

The warmth has an added benefit of still having our grey water running free, which means dishwashing is easier, and we can take showers. I actually took one Sunday, and probably will again tonight or tomorrow morning. My wife will appreciate that I did when I get home tomorrow afternoon. I have noticed that the guys keep their distance…

The quiet time is wonderful. I came up with a lot of work to do, and have had loads of free time to get it done. As always, I didn’t accomplish as much as I’d hoped, but I’m pleased with the results. Naps are important, and cut into work time.

Down tomorrow in the truck, the State Park guys having done a yeoman’s job plowing, and the warmth and rain taking care of the rest of the snow on the road. That’s good: the truck is a quicker trip down, and we don’t have to transfer everything from the Cat to the truck halfway down.

I was happy to record the weather report for NHPR this week. Thanks to all my friends who listened. It was a treat for me to do.

Once again, a delightful week on the mountain. Thanks to Jim, Ryan, and Bryan for making me feel so welcome.

 

Bruce Barlow,  Summit Volunteer